Passion Pit & Fanfarlo – Vibe Bar, London, 08/07/09

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I’ve got a hunch tonight. And no, it’s not the physical posture-affecting kind. My hunch is that tonight’s show featuring Passion Pit and Fanfarlo is going to be a little good. I worked it out – I did the math. You see it’s no secret that both bands could easily sell-out a venue triple/quadruple the size of the Vibe Bar (this sweatbox holds 150 people). As matter of fact-ly, Passion Pit already fresh off the back of a hugely successful gig at Heaven (the gay club, not the Devine hangout for do-gooders) where demand for tickets was massive, and summer festivals and a headline gig at Koko await. Fanfarlo are steadily acclimating a dedicated fan base (helped by supporting Snow Patrol and being praised by David Bowie as one of his favourite bands, the last band he did that with was Arcade Fire) and are helped with their recent album scheme of giving their last record away for a quid. With all that you can’t help but be lucky and appreciate it a little more.

So London/Sweden’s Fanfarlo take to the stage and with most people entering from the courtyard outside, it’s getting a bit rammed already. Fronted by Simon Balthazar and his lovely languid singing voice, they skip through choice cuts from above said newbie Reservoir. Now, I’ve seen Fanfarlo a few fair times and I’ve never been truly been convinced in all honesty. A bit too meek and twee for my own personal liking I’ve usually concluded. Caught them on their above said support slot with Snow Patrol at the o2 (don’t ask) and they seemed lost on stage. Hardly a surprise I guess and not helped by uninterested crowds and one of the worst acoustics for a venue I’ve ever heard, but they’ve definitely sharpened their sound and ooze a real confidence. I guess smaller venues just lend themselves to their sound. They have the songs too, honed over the space of 2-3 years.

Songs such as ‘Fire Escape’ and ‘Harold T Wilkins’ gleam brightly and allow the crowd to do that twee skip type dance. You know the one. The kind of dance when Belle & Sebastian or Smiths songs are dropped in indie clubs. The group also included Jeremy Warmsley in their ranks tonight, helping out on guitar duties and ably assisting Balthazar on some double-floor-drum action. A welcome addition to the group and helped flesh out their subtle and zesty sound. The highlight this evening though is ‘I’m A Pilot’. A song which grabs your hand and leads you on a wonderful, warm journey through magical landscapes and across rocking oceans. The slow tempo here plays host to strings elegantly flirting with a terrific piano and bass partnership, providing a carriage on which to sit back and enjoy the ride. It keeps the diehards (and myself) appeased, feeling as if it’s a great big musical hug. Ah lovely stuff.

So to the headliners. “Hi. We’re Passion Pit from Massachusetts” is the closest the band get to interacting directly with the crowd tonight but, what they lack in communication, they more than make up for it in fervor and well, erm passion. Ahem. I think it’s fair to say if there’s a “buzz” band around at the moment, it would be these chaps. “2009′s MGMT” I overheard some dude tell a girl outside. “…But look like Hot Chip”. Complete with electro-pop anthems driven by lead singer Michael Angelakos’ acute falsetto, they seem to have placed themselves firmly on our radar. They open with ‘Better Things’ and it sounds electric. This tightly squeezed room of trendy Londoners are getting their proverbial groove on, chanting back it’s catchy “You’re driving me crazy!” admission.

Y’know one thing I think I’ve learned over the years is that if you lob in a moving chorus of kids singing onto a song, you’re near enough certain of a crowd-pleaser. (Oi, Go! Team, Justice yeah, I’m looking at you). ‘Little Secrets’, gets a wave of hands raised and swaying to the innocent refrain of “Keep climbing higher and higher and higher and higher”. Of course, there were moments where things to didn’t all go to plan. ‘Let Your Love Grow Tall’ was sluggishly translated live with their faces in stern concentration, but it’s when they let go that they achieve their true potential. Such was the case with the fantastically stimulating closer ‘The Reeling’, reminding us that engaging in pure, innocent, unadulterated fun which can get even the trendiest cooler-than-thou Hoxtonite throw away their inhibitions and shake that ripped-skinny-jeaned thang.

As their own song claims though, they can look forward to much better, and definitely much bigger things. (And just so you know, it took a week to think of that closing line…)